Yakima Firefighters Are Working Hard To Control An Intense Wildfire Season

YAKIMA, WA-- Firefighters in Yakima are working hard to control a wildfire season that is still going strong, and they are still bracing for even more extreme conditions.

Firefighters said this has been an exhausting season with fires popping up almost every day in the area, along with the major wildfires happening around the state.

Captain Tom Schneider from the Yakima Fire Department said as much as they would like to help with the fires burning in Leavenworth and Brewster, they have to keep their resources local.

“We don't have that many spare people to go dedicate and commit to those big fires for extended lengths of time.We need our off-duty people around Yakima incase we get a big fire, we need them to step into the city," Captain Schneider said.

He also said the weather conditions and the equipment fire crews have to carry around are making things difficult because of the intense stress it puts on the human body.Their total equipment weighs about 70-pounds and in this hot weather that is tough on the crews.

Firefighters are hoping the rest of the summer stays calm, but with how these past two weeks have been it is hard to say if that will become a reality.